Reviews- Free Comic Book Day offerings, Episode II

Free Comic Book Day offerings, Episode II

Free Comic Book Day 2014: Guardians Of The Galaxy #1 (Marvel, cover date May, 2014)

Bendis. Always Bendis. My 7 year old son was reading this but my wife confiscated it due to two swear words. I know, what am I doing letting my 7 year old read a comic book, right? These are sophisticated and for adults, man. And this is why the fanbase is shrinking and why endless reboots and gimmicks are the only thing propping this industry up on stilts. The fact that Bendis and Marvel slam anyone who speaks out about making their titles enjoyable to all ages further demonstrates why they don't get it. Childless adults join in the chorus of bashing anyone who speak out against this practice.

See, I am not pro-censorship; quite the opposite, but when you are aiming your property at children, and you are since you are slamming toys and tie-ins at them, then you have a certain responsibility to make that media accessible to and appropriate for them. If there are no new readers then they won't be old readers some day, Einstein. And what Brian Michael Bendis, Tom Brevoort, Joe Quesada and the rest of the clowns at Marvel don't get is that if parents won't let their kids read comics then those readers are lost. Lambast away, Brevoort, but the parents have the money, and if they decide that curse words in mainstream superhero comics are inappropriate then guess what? You lose, not them. There are plenty of other things vying for those dollars. I'm not going to be around forever...and when it comes to Bendis, I won't be around at all. My son enjoyed it, and that's the real shame, because I would have had no problem buying him this comic every month. Thanks to the reason listed above, my wife has seen to it that that ship has sailed.

I thought that the story was weak but did enjoy the artwork. There are two back-up features in this comic: The Thanos preview from the forthcoming graphic novel which might be interesting, and the Spider-Man preview for the Spider-Verse crossover, which looks craptastic.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 1.5 out of 5.

Rise Of The Magi #0 (Top Cow/Image, cover date May, 2014)

ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZzzzzzzzZzzzz.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 0.5 out of 5.

All You Need Is Kill/ Terra Formars split book (Haika Soru/ Viz Media, cover date May, 2014)

Viz Media is a Manga company, and since I am not big on Manga this didn't do much for me. For what it's worth, I liked Terra Formars more than I did All You Need Is Kill.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 1.75 out of 5.

Entropy FCBD (Epicenter Comics, cover date 2014)

This has a 22 page preview of the forthcoming Entropy series as well as two back up stories, Vegetable and Crosses. I found the back-up stories more entertaining than the main event.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.25 out of 5.

Bleeding Cool Magazine Free Comic Book Day 2014 (Avatar Press, cover date May, 2014)

I like magazines. I still subscribe to several even in this digital age, believe it or not. I spend too much time on gadgets and it is nice to break away from screens. Plus, I have an aversion to reading electronic gadgets on the toilet.

I do not rate magazines.

Free Comic Book Day: Project Black Sky (Dark Horse, cover date May, 2014)

Take one long defunct Golden Age hero (Captain Midnight), add one obscure yet fondly remembered by a handful of Silver Age fans character (Brain Boy) and you get Project Black Sky. It's a solid enough read, but there is no way on Earth that I am buying this. If someone wants to give me a copy I will review it, though.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.